MANAGING ATTORNEY - HOUSING PRESERVATION PROGRAM

Join the growing housing preservation/eviction defense team at Legal Assistance the Elderly (LAE)!  We provide a vital service, aggressively representing tenants who are seniors or have disabilities and are threatened with losing their homes.  Sixty percent of LAE’s clients face housing threats including evictions, terminations of subsidies, unlawful rent increases, denials of necessary modifications, extra-judicial evictions and harassment. LAE is part of San Francisco’s Tenant Right to Counsel collaboration, providing free, full-scope representation to tenants facing Unlawful Detainer actions. This collaboration comprises the largest part of our housing work. Our team represents clients throughout their case, beginning with pre-trial motions, through discovery and at trial.  We are looking for a dedicated and experienced housing attorney to manage this team and serve as a mentor to newly barred attorneys who join LAE.  This position will work with the Executive Director and Director of Litigation to lead this team as it continues to grow.    

Organization Description

For over 40 years, LAE has provided free legal advice and representation to San Francisco’s seniors and adults with disabilities. Our mission is to keep this vulnerable community safe, financially secure, healthy and housed. Our primary practice areas are Eviction Defense/Housing Preservation (tenants only), Income Support, Health Law, Financial and Physical Elder Abuse Prevention, Debt Collection Defense, End of Life Planning and Conservatorship Defense. LAE is a friendly and collaborative work environment.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Member State Bar of California
• 7+ years working as a housing attorney
• Experience defending Unlawful Detainers
• Experience supervising legal professionals
• Ability to develop and articulate a clear vision of priorities and inspire others to maximum effectiveness
• Ability to develop and implement effective training and mentorship programs for new staff
• Ability to take decisive action and ensure accountability
• Ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and effectively, including in public presentations
• Ability to engage, encourage, support, and motivate your team 
• Trial experience
• Strong written, verbal and interviewing skills
• Patient and flexible
• Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless the applicant has a valid medical reason or not being fully vaccinated or a sincerely held religious belief preventing vaccination.

HIGHLY DESIRABLE

• Experience bringing affirmative lawsuits related to housing
• Bilingual in English and Spanish or Cantonese, or Mandarin, or Tagalog
• Knowledge of legal issues related to poverty and/or aging
• Experience working with elderly, disabled or homeless individuals or those experiencing a crisis
• Experience working in non-profit legal services, or other non-profit organization

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage LAE’s Housing Preservation Program
• Supervise, manage and train supervising attorneys, staff attorneys, social worker and housing paralegals
• Review new eviction cases and assign to staff attorneys as needed
• Review program policies and procedures and make changes as needed to promote an organized, collegial, and collaborative working environment for staff and clients
• Recruit, supervise and train law student interns and volunteer attorneys
• Maintain accurate computerized client files and other documentation and provide project statistics to other staff as requested
• Ensure team is meeting program grant deliverables and provide information as needed to complete funding reports
• Collaborate with other Tenant Right to Counsel Programs across San Francisco
• Collaborate with other LAE practice groups to ensure that clients’ legal issues are addressed holistically
• Provide trainings to service providers in order to improve their clients’ access to legal services
• Provide legal advice and full scope representation in court to tenants facing eviction
• Conduct intake interviews with new clients, including home and hospital visits, when necessary

SUPERVISED BY: Executive Director

WORKING CONDITIONS

The position requires working with individuals during moments of extreme stress and instability. The position also requires the provision of culturally-sensitive and empathetic services. Some evening and weekend work may be required.

Due to the COVID pandemic, our office is working on a hybrid schedule that includes both working from home and in the office. This position particularly will be required to work in person/in the office for mandatory court appearances, required client meetings, hearings and depositions, and some supervision of staff attorneys and administrative staff.  This position is only temporarily remote.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Prolonged sitting/standing
• Extensive typing/data entry
• Close visual acuity to prepare and analyze data, text, and figures
• Prolonged computer use